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The Scotland international came on to score all three goals in Everton's memorable victory over Premier League champions at the weekend, although Naismith could easily have been scoring goals elsewhere this season.

The 28-year-old said: 'When you are not playing every week it is hard to look past these opportunities (to leave the club).

'But it was out of my hands because the manager said he didn't want me to leave.

'That was nice in a way but when you're not playing it is hard to take.

'Things can change so quickly in football, though. Hopefully I've shown my worth to the team. At my age, you do wonder how long it is going to be before you are playing regularly again. I was still coming on in games with a good bit of time to play, so that gave me hope that I could still be here at Everton,'he added.